The Flight
by kcat1971
Summary: [Transitions Universe Story #1] He doesn't need 4 weeks after all. Vignettes based on the last scene in Transition (S7E19). (A/N This was my first fanfic- it is quite a bit different than the rest of the series, but its still a good place to start.)
1. Chapter 1

I dropped down into my seat, leaned back and released a breath. I looked out into the night. Drained. Afraid to close my eyes for fear of passing out. Then I felt her presence and my focus shifted.

"Hey." I breathed out. She smiled. But it was her new smile. The one that looked slightly forced. There was an uncertainty in her eyes as she searched mine. Hopeful, yet still reserved.

"May I just say, a truly excellent notion."

"It was Sam." I confessed softly. I was rewarded with a grin. One that contained a glimmer of the past.

"Of course." She snickered.

"The vacation." I quickly interjected with a small smile. I was starting to feel like myself.

"Going with you part was all me." She blinked three or four times. Then a small smile. But it was one I knew. The one that told me she knew something. Something I was on the verge of figuring out for myself. She leaned forward and kissed me softly. And in that moment, I knew.


	2. Chapter 2

I watched him sleep. He had practially passed out the minute we reached cruising altitude. His face still held traces of boyish charm but the lines were etched deeper. I let my mind wander to when we'd first met.

I'd finally decided to do something. Be something. I'd still been reeling when I'd left Madison, but I'd seen a Bartlet Ad and I'd summoned every ounce of courage and driven to Manchester. The next day I'd walked into the campaign office to volunteer. People were scurrying everywhere. No one noticed me. For a moment I thought about walking back out. What was I thinking? Then I had heard the phone ringing incessantly in his office. The Secretary in me just couldn't let it go. His desk was messy, but the calendar was on top. I could take a message.

When he breezed in, I had told myself to play it cool. Just act like I was supposed to be there.

"I'm your new assistant."

"I had an old one?" He looked confused. And adorable. I tried to exaggerate but just couldn't quite bring myself to lie. Suddenly, he cut to the point.

"When did your boyfriend break up with you?" How had he known? How had he hit so squarely on the sore spot on my soul? "Dr. Freeride" had cost me more than money, more than college, more than opportunities. He had diminished me. All I had wanted when I'd driven to Manchester was to be whole again. To have a purpose. To mean something. To someone.

Then he continued,

"This can't be a place where people come to find their confidence and start over." Direct hit. But somehow I looked into his face and said-

"Look, I think I could be good at this. I think you might find me valuable."

His face softened. He searched my eyes. When the phone started ringing he'd said "Go ahead."

He watched me as I answered. He smiled softly and I grinned at the dimples. Then he took his credentials off and handed them to me and walked out.

That wasn't the moment I fell in love with him. But it was the moment I began to become whole again. To be capable of falling in love. To mean something to someone.


	3. Chapter 3

My eyes sprang open but I didn't move. How long had I slept? I glanced at my watch. Four hours. That's about all my body is conditioned for right now. The weight on my shoulder felt nice. Right. I looked out the window into the black night. A vacation? During Transition? WWLD?

I thought back to his funeral. Mrs. Bartlet had cornered me.

"He gave everything for this country." She looked at me fiercely. I had expected her to tell me I had big shoes to fill. As if I didn't already know that. As if I had any idea how I would manage without his guidance. But then her face had softened. Her next words had surprised me.

"He had regrets." She looked across the room and my eyes had followed, landing on the only reason I was holding it together at all. Then Mrs. Bartlet said-

"He wouldn't want you to have them too. He loved you like a son." And she walked away.

I looked back down at my shoulder. She sighed softly in her sleep. I gently kissed the top of her head. I closed my eyes and promised Leo that I would have a life.


	4. Chapter 4

I stretched in my seat as the Captain announced our initial descent. The flight attendants were waking everyone up. A general buzz of excitement began to build in the cabin. I leaned over him and looked out the window, giggling softly as I caught sight of the islands.

"That's a nice sound to wake up to" he said, brushing my hair out of my face and cupping my cheek gently. "What's funny?"

"Remember-I told you- some guys take their assistants to Maui- it's not unheard of."

I expected playful banter in return.

"Donnatella,"his thumb brushed my check and his eyes bore into mine, "I did not bring my assistant to Maui. . . . I don't need 3 weeks and 5 days. I know what I want from this relationship. I love you. Marry me."

"Okay." What more was there to say?


End file.
